Lee Leggett appointed national CEO of Initiative, Livingston moved to COO
IPG Mediabrands has hired the former CEO of UK creative agency Dare Lee Leggett as the CEO of Initiative Australia, with current CEO Andrew Livingston being moved to the role of chief operating officer.
Leggett spent seven years at the helm of Dare in the UK and before moving to Australia last year. She has led major accounts in the UK including Sainsburys, Sony, Coca-Cola, Vodafone and Diageo.
In response to questions of whether this was a demotion for Livingston, IPG MEdiabrand’s chairman Henry Tajer told Mumbrella: “This is a repositioning of his role into what he is really really strong at. Some people will read it as a demotion because we are bringing in another CEO into the role, but this is more about positioning and this is part of the plan that we have for the Initiative business in terms of investing in it and growing it.
“We value Andrew highly. He has been repositioned to have a different focus to what he has done. I think all would agree that in the time that Andrew has held the CEO’s role Initiative has become a stronger agency and the market will that in the coming days as well.”
Initiative won the Media Federation of Australia Award’s Grand Prix last year, but has recently lost its Sydney managing director Annick Perrin. In March the agency won the $10m TAL account, but lost the Rabobank account to ZenithOptimedia and Helloworld to OMD in the same month.
In regards to Leggett’s appointment Tajer said he was confident she would be able to take Initiative to the next level.
“Lee has a truly enviable track record that is perfect to lead Initiative into the future,” said Tajer. “She has effectively led a very creative business that has attracted marquee clients, produced great work and developed a strong agency culture along the way.”
“After two years successfully leading Initiative to high points including new business wins and the MFA Grand Prix, we have asked Andrew to take on the new COO role to continue taking advantage of his strong commercial and operational skills,” said Tajer “He will work with Lee on a transition of the CEO role and move to focus more on operational matters across the national business.”
Leggett, who is married to M&C Saatchi CEO Jaimes Leggett, said she is excited to take on the new role.
“I have been very impressed with Initiative as an organisation and the quality of its work. I am looking forward to getting to grips with the role and meeting the clients and people. It is a great opportunity,” she said.
During her seven years at the helm of Dare the agency forged a reputation for innovation, and was named digital agency of the decade by Campaign Magazine, and one of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company. She has previously managed the Grand Union agency, and has had stints at DDB and Digitas.
Leggett joins Initiative on May 5 and will be based in Sydney.
Nic Christensen
Thanks so much for telling us who her husband is! This very important professional detail is all too often left out of news reports.
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Hi SheSaid,
Thanks for the comment.
While not a major detail, the fact she is married to the CEO of one of Australia’s largest creative agencies is, for a section of readers, relevant intelligence.
Rest assured if the appointments had happened the other way round we would have put the same detail in the story.
Cheers,
Alex – editor, Mumbrella
Hard to feel assured when you in fact didn’t include the same detail when it was the other way around….sharpen up Mumbrella
https://mumbrella.com.au/mc-saatchi-australia-appoints-ogilvy-uk-boss-jaimes-leggett-as-ceo-137728
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Hi WSM,
Thanks for the comment.
At the time Lee Leggett didn’t have a role in the local market, hence not including it in the story.
Hope that clarifies it.
Cheers,
Alex – editor, Mumbrella
Hi Alex,
No it doesn’t – can you explain further please.
Cheers,
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Hi What,
Sure. Lee Leggett did not have a job in the Australian industry when Jaimes Leggett was appointed to his role, therefore her role was not relevant information.
If Lee had been the first of the pair to get a prominent role in Austrlia and Jaimes the second the same line, inversely, would have been used.
It’s not a question of sexism, defining a woman by her husband’s achievements or anything like that, merely useful information for a large swathe of the industry.
Cheers,
Alex – editor, Mumbrella
No other media outlet added the “Mrs Legget” tag.
Only you Alex.It certainly wasn’t part of the press release.
So don’t try and weasel out of it.
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Petty squabbles above aside, the main fact that should be commented upon and celebrated is that Lee is top talent. I had the pleasure of working with her in London. Her creative and digital agency background will add a hell of a lot. Well done Henry.
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Hi Pathetic,
Thanks for the comment.
You’re quite right, no other outlet did mention it, whether that was because it wasn’t part of the press release or not who knows.
Similarly no other outlet bothered to follow up for quotes with Henry Tajer on the decision.
I’ll leave you to decide why that is.
Cheers,
Alex – editor, Mumbrella
Sleuth you may be Alex ,but you are certainly no journalist.That second paragraph is appallingly written.
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Pathetic – adnews also mentioned her husband.
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